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Enjoying food during the holidays while staying aligned with your goals

Food is more than fuel. It’s also part of our traditions, relationships, and memories.

Ellie Brewer

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The holidays can make decisions about food feel overwhelming, especially when you’re working toward health or fitness goals. Constantly analyzing what to eat to support your goals can be exhausting. This is your reminder that all food nourishes you in some way, and that sharing food is one of the most meaningful ways we build connection and memories - especially during the holidays.

In this blog, we’ll explore how food is more than fuel, and how you can enjoy the season while still supporting your health and working towards your goals.

Food is more than just fuel

At Rise, we often talk about food as fuel: your body needs consistent, balanced nutrition to power your workouts and feel your best. This is an important part of a healthy lifestyle.

But food also carries culture, tradition, and joy. Many of our favorite holiday memories - from family recipes to meals shared with friends - are tied closely to food. A healthy relationship with food leaves room for nourishment and enjoyment.

How to navigate holiday eating without stress

It is absolutely possible to make memories, enjoy special foods, and stay aligned with your goals. This is not a switch you can flip overnight, but increasing your awareness and practicing these small habits everyday can help strengthen your relationship with food and reduce stress around holiday eating. Here are some of our best tips: 

1. Use the 80/20 approach

Aim for balanced meals - protein, carbohydrate, and color (fruits or vegetables) - about 80% of the time. The other 20%, give yourself permission to enjoy the holiday treats and traditions that matter to you.

A healthy lifestyle is flexible enough to fit the different phases of your life, not something that dictates every detail around eating. 

2. Practice mindful eating

Mindful eating simply means tuning into your hunger, fullness, and cravings.

Even if it feels counterintuitive, allowing yourself to eat foods you enjoy helps prevent overeating later. If you only ate chocolate all day, you’d eventually crave something fresh. Your body naturally guides you to what foods you need. But you have to listen to your body to hear those cues.

Here’s how to practice mindful eating:

  • Let yourself enjoy the foods you’re craving. Pick the dessert you truly want, sit down, and savor it slowly. Notice flavors, textures, and how you feel while you eat it. One thoughtfully enjoyed cookie is far more satisfying than eating several without tasting them and feeling guilty afterwards.

  • Check in after your first plate. At holiday meals, start with one plate that includes variety and color. When you’re done, pause for a few minutes and tune in to the signals your body is giving you to determine if you are still hungry.

  • Slow down your eating. Set your fork down between bites or take breaks to chat with people around you. This gives your body time to signal fullness and let your brain catch up with your stomach.

  • Don’t “save up” calories. Skipping meals before a big gathering leaves you overly hungry and more likely to overeat. Eating consistently throughout the day supports steady hunger cues, a healthy metabolism, and helps decrease the desire to over indulge when you finally let yourself eat. Your body still needs steady nourishment throughout the day, even on days when you expect to eat more than usual.

Remember what really matters

Food is fuel, but it’s also connection, tradition, and joy. When you look back on your life decades from now, the memories that stand out won’t be the calories you counted, they’ll be the memories of the people you shared meals with.

If you want help and support in building a healthy, balanced relationship with food, our nutrition coaches at Rise are here to help you thrive all year long.